


Help

by Robby66



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Detective-style plot, F/F, Longing, Lots of bickering between Courtney and Kate, Max and Victoria are lovesick fools for each other, Outsider POV most of the time, Rambling, it's kinda cute too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22584727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Robby66/pseuds/Robby66
Summary: Both Max and Victoria type out secret, frustrating thoughts about each other, hopelessly lost in their passion for each other. They both need help. Cereal help. But help comes in the most unexpected way, in the form of Courtney's and Kate's meddling.
Relationships: Kate Marsh & Courtney Wagner, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Victoria Chase
Comments: 45
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It's my first work, and there may be some sentence errors so please be easy on me. I also wrote this in the heat of the moment, when I - I mean MAX - was suddenly infatuated with Victoria after reading multiple LiS fics. Enjoy!

Victoria Chase. She has consumed my thoughts for the past few days, ever since I first saw her in Mr Jefferson's class. Just thinking about her, makes my heart flutter and constrict with pain, knowing that I’ll never get close enough to her for her to even notice me. Though she is not without her flaws.

I love her sassy, witty comebacks which make me feel inferior to her yet in awe of her quick-thinking skills. I love her crisp tone and precise pronunciation of each word. There’s just something about her clear phonetic pronunciation and sultry, song-like voice that makes me shiver with pleasure. It’s like how most people talk in movies in the 1950’s. People may find it weird. But I absolutely do not. I could just listen to her talk all day long.

She wears collared shirts, short skirts, leggings, and a nice pair of short heels to top it off. All of which are by no less, branded and probably signed by the designers themselves. Yet, I love the way she looks, the way her short skirt reveals her long silky legs despite her leggings and the way she looks so professional and poised with her collared shirts. Her pixie cut makes her appearance even more appealing, the boyish cut enhancing her rebel personality. It makes her more intriguing. She also never forgets to complete her ensemble with a lavender perfume, the smell making her more enticing than it is possible. She leaves her mark everywhere she goes, with her very subtle pervasive lavender smell. As if I’m not tortured enough.

Oh, and as if her fashionable style and language weren’t enough, her facial features are the crème of the crop. Her pert nose, feminine luscious lips, soft cheekbones make me go all ‘goo-goo gaga’ every time I look at her.

I sound like a love-sick lunatic. I probably am.

But I can’t help it.

Especially when I get a glance at her eyes. Her big, beautiful, slate-green eyes, which might deceive any innocent bystander that she’s a well-mannered, obedient girl. But I know better, having seen the subtle yet blazing fire in them. If you were to even accidentally stand in her way, you would regret the day you were born (as cliché as it sounds, it’s true). I’d give anything for her to look at me with her fury-filled eyes, even if I’d melt the moment she graced me a look. Anything is worth being noticed by her. Even now, my arms feel weak, typing this out, due to the pent-up longing I have for her. Describing it in words is hard, but it’s nice to be able to break down and decipher the swirling storm raging in me, every time I see or even think about her.

I love how she built herself in a way that she made everyone fear and respect her at the same time. When she steps into a room, everyone immediately keeps their tones hushed, as if they could sense her aura without even looking up at her. That’s her.

I love how she openly portrays her body by clubbing and dancing, hips swaying hypnotically, twirling and moving her hands up and down her body in the most sensual way. She knows how tempting she looks but she also knows how nobody, in their right mind, would advance upon her delirious state because of how they would feel like a dumb fool coming near her, disturbing the entrancing rhythm she’s set her body in. It is this very sight. The sight of her letting her inhibitions out with the same carefreeness that only comes with the surety that no one is ever worthy enough to even brush against her. How can someone be this… _godly?_

But to be fair, she has her flaws too. Like her abrasive personality. She looks down on anyone who has any slight indication of a failure in any aspect of their life. This includes wealth, appearance, intelligence and morality. Though, a failure in morality would mean to be decently mannered in any aspect of life. If you’re a bitch, congratulations, you are now qualified for the Vortex Club. However, if you’re decently mild-mannered or religious, be prepared to get fucked, i.e be subjected to the brutal wrath of Victoria Chase. She is vicious, sly and cunning. She will stop at nothing to get what she wants, though she has already attained all that she wants at Blackwell Academy – status and popularity – so, what more can she want? Maybe she wants the whole school to be converted to hooliganism so that she can lord over everyone. Then i can be her right-hand man, and she'll actually notice me.

Okay, I think I’ve gone on too long. I sound like a love-sick sap, for gods’ sake.

So, in summary, I would ascribe Victoria Chase to a lovely, but deadly trap. She lures you into her with her fashionable style, cult personality, wittiness and sensuality. Yet, one wrong step would put you under earth of 10 feet deep, with zero possibility of ever scratching the surface. She could be described as pandora’s box, unleashing all evils once opened.

But, her portrayal of a feminine devil makes the vulnerable side of her even more precious and rare. If she expresses genuinity, compassion and kindness to you, you can be forever sure that you have died and are now an angel in heaven. Because, her expressing such values are so inexplicably rare that you must be an individual of heavenly qualities to be graced with them. Yet, it is this knowledge of her vulnerability that constricts my chest with such longing that I cannot bear to keep it in. I would collapse on the spot and probably be transported to a parallel universe, if she were to ever express such emotions to me, not that I’m worthy of it in any way. Can you imagine a slight lift of the right corner of her lips, which in essence, signifies a real, genuine smile?

NO.

Not in my world.

And yet, my thoughts about her persist, even with my pleadings with God or any other supernatural being, to make this madness stop. I even tried to talk to Kate, to absolve my sins (this sounds absurd but I was DESPERATE). She told me to meditate and read the Bible, of course. I tried, but after many years away from church, it felt foreign to me. Meditation didn’t help too. I tried to think about plants, then it went to the colour green, then it went to Victoria’s eyes. It was hopeless. _Sigh._ Now, I know how Warren feels. I should be kinder to him.

Well, all I can do now is to wish that maybe, _just maybe,_ Victoria might have the slightest crush on me as I have on her. Tsk, _who am I kidding?_

On a side-note, I can’t believe I wrote a whole fucking essay about HER. Of all the people. She’s turned me into some literature poet. _God_...I AM hopeless. HELP.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, hopefully y'all enjoyed this piece, I might write a part 2 in Victoria's POV about Max... though I'm not quite sure about that. I'll see how it goes. Also, please tell me your thoughts on this piece! I'd love to hear them!


	2. Help II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> VIctoria seems to find herself caught in a sticky web of feelings, for a certain hipster. She vents out her frustration by typing out her secret thoughts. Unfortunately, instead of helping, it just shows how deeply she's stuck in the web. Boo hoo hoo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back with another love letter! This time, from Vic! This little troubling piece took quite awhile because I had to decide how Victoria is going to show a side that she never showed us in the game, while remaining true to her personality. I hope I did her justice..enjoy!

Max fucking Caulfield. Of course, the universe would deem fit to match me with the most hipster loser ever, as my ~~soulmate~~ crush. Why the fuck do butterflies appear in my stomach when I see Max tuck a stray hair behind her ear? Or when she does something that’s so like her dorky-self, like snorting through her nose when Warren makes some lame-ass puns as a pathetic show of impressing her? (fyi, I was NOT eavesdropping on them). Or when she suddenly stops and kneels, in the middle of a busy pathway, to capture a shot of a fluttering blue butterfly, and then blushes furiously because she almost got knocked down by the druggy skater boy? (fyi, I was NOT secretly observing them).

She’s just so..different from everybody in this god-forsaken academy. She’s like a fish out of water, a weird puzzle piece in a jigsaw puzzle. She doesn’t _fit_. But somehow, she seems to attract a lot of attention and brings out the best in people, even if she doesn’t do it for herself. For example, poor biblical Kate, who was such a quiet, insecure girl in the first lesson. But after meeting Max, and having a couple of tea sessions with her, Kate spoke out more in class, she seemed more bubbly, cheerful, and started talking to other loners in class, like Alyssa, and Stella. Like what the fuck. Is Max fucking Jesus or something? How the hell did this hipster transform Kate into some cheerleader? How did she make Alyssa grow big enough balls to snap back at me? She managed to cheat my social hierarchy system (that I created with my blood and sweat, mind you), and created this whole other, ’fairy and candy’ system, where everybody is so fucking jolly, and everything is sunshine and rainbows, by just purely using her hipster charm.

I mean, I can see why her hipster charm works. The way she seems to look at you like you’re a real genuine person; a person with a complicated life, and just goes along with you. I don’t know if that makes sense. Probably not. I don’t know how else to describe it. No judgement, pity or arrogance. Just shake her hand and you probably just made friends with Jesus. _I can’t believe I typed Jesus twice in this essay_.

But, she is a dumbass for sure, because of how she sees herself as a person unworthy of attention, judging by her shy attitude crap. Sometimes, it makes me want to slap her out of it, to make her see herself for who she truly is, not the shell she portrays to the world. (well, that sounded cringey).

I realise that, she makes people feel special. Like how she attunes to you, cataloguing your likes and dislikes, and takes it very seriously. Like how she gave Kate a beautiful tea set as a birthday present and gave Alyssa some of her trashy rock albums as a random gesture of kindness. It’s weird. And well, kinda impressive, in this day and age. She revived chivalry. She’s like a knight in shining armour, who came to save everyone from ‘Vicious Victoria’ (that does have a nice ring to it), with her mysterious hipster charm. She can honestly charm my panties right off.

I mean, seriously, have you seen her bewitching doe eyes? They’re so goddamn _blue_. Bright, guileless, blue eyes. It’s akin to the Van Gogh’s Starry Night. The way you can stare at it and fall off into the deep end of the sea. That’s why I can’t hold a complete conversation with her. I have to end it quickly with a snarky remark, or else I’ll end up as a pile of goo on the floor. _How pathetic._

I just wish she’d stop being so…Max-y. Like her terrible dancing.

Once, during a moment of insanity, I took a sneak peek at her since her room door was left ajar. It’s not like I purposely did it.

There she was, drunk off her ass, swinging an empty beer bottle around, dancing in a little dorky dance, arms and legs unsynchronised, as if she never danced before in her life. It was definitely one of those ‘jaw-dropping’ moments in my life. Max being wild, free of her shyness, and in her element of dorkiness, was something of a rare sight. It made me feel privy to her true self, the self that she only showed to her closest friends. Strangely, I wanted to see more of it.

Now, every time I see her, I remember her little dorky dance, and secretly smile to myself. _Oh Max._

If her dancing wasn’t horrible enough, her sense of style would make me gag on the spot, if it wasn’t for her dorkiness which, might be her only redeeming quality. A pink shirt, a hoodie, and some generic jeans, and poof! You’ve got Max Caulfield. Though, her simple outfits, do add to her general charm of innocence. And the fact that she doesn’t care about what anyone thinks, to continue dressing in her plain clothes - even after my harsh (but necessary) fashion criticism - makes her admirable. She carves out her own pathway, and she doesn’t notice people following in her steps. Like an oblivious Hercules. It makes me jealous; and in awe, of her.

Gosh, I can’t believe I’m fangirling over Max! A retrograde hipster! But an endearing one, nevertheless, especially with her weird hipster language. Like if she sees something that amuses her, she’ll say ‘Wowzers’ or ‘That’s cereal!’. That’s so hipster, it’s adorkable. _Fuck me._

Max is cute. I’ll give her that.

And bold.

And benevolent, 

Not to mention her great photogenic camera eyes. Honestly, what else should there be?

Ugh. At the rate of absurdity I’m going at with my infatuation with _Maxine_ , I might as well call Warren to date him.

Can anyone imagine this turn of events? Probably not. Not even in Max’s darkest fantasies, given how innocent the little dork is. Honestly, I don’t know what to do with myself, or how to maintain my ‘Queen Bitch’ façade in front of Max, with all the fucking butterflies in my stomach and my heart thudding in my chest, every time I see her. Thanks to my daily ‘I hate Max Caulfield’ mantras, I manage to look like the fashionable bully that I rightfully am, without once losing my composure in front of Max. I should win an Oscar for that. 

Maybe, hopefully, Cupid would wake up from his hibernation and hit Maxine Caulfield with his gay-as-fuck arrow so that we all can live happily ever after and this gloom that’s settled over me, ever since I realised my infatuation with Max, can finally disappear.

.

.

.

_My chivalrous knight, can't you save me too?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love that last line, as to me, it conveys all of what Vic feels for her hipster. sigh. I wish i had my own chivalrous knight :(
> 
> Anyway, hopefully Vic didn't seem a little too crazy for Max here. Though that was just what came out of me when writing this piece. They are really meant for each other ><  
> I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! ;)


	3. Help III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria's changing habits don't go unnoticed by Courtney, her ever loyal follower. Especially when this change all point to a certain hipster. Courtney was befuddled, but she will not forego this challenge of reforming her 'Al-Mighty' leader back to what she once was..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, another chapter uploaded within a day?! My muse came back, with Courtney! Somehow, she makes it so fun to write this chapter! It's shorter than the previous ones, but builds up to the plot. Enjoy!

Courtney woke up with an exasperated sigh. Another day of being Victoria’s looney bin. _‘Why did I allow myself to be subjected to this again?’_ , She huffed, as she went about getting ready for the day. As she picked up her Pandora’s bracelet to clip it on, she got her answer; _‘Oh right, it’s because I can get gifts like this!’',_ she smiled, pleased that her existence was justified appropriately. With the added benefit that Victoria can be pretty cool once you get to know her, only when she isn’t on her bad moods, and that reprieve is quite rare, for Max Caulfield never failed to make Victoria’s day miserable. That’s why Courtney hates Max too. She gets a little kick of satisfaction whenever Victoria puts ‘Mopey Max’ in her place.

However, the occurrence of that ‘kick’ has decreased somewhat, over time, for the Queen Bitch seems to be a lot more distracted as of late. Last Tuesday, Max accidentally knocked Victoria’s shoulder over while rushing to god knows where. As Courtney slyly waited behind Victoria for her cruel (and admittedly, delicious) retort to Max, she was shocked when Victoria only gave Max a sharp glare, and strutted away. Usually, a crime of this extent would evoke a poisonous verbal assault from Victoria. And that would be Victoria on her ‘normal’ days. She wouldn’t want to think what would have happened if Victoria was on her period.

But, a glare?! A measly little glare?! Though the glare sent Max scuttling away like the insufferable rat she was, it definitely didn’t come close to a ‘kick’ of satisfaction. It felt more like a tap. And it was utterly, dissatisfying. 

Courtney was interrupted out of her fuming thoughts, when Victoria screeched, ‘Did your ears fall off?! I told you we had to be there in 5! Stop standing there like a fool!’. _Wow, she’s in a mood. But why did I get the brunt of it and not Max?!_

That was the mystery of the universe that plagued Courtney the entire day.

.

.

Courtney turned fitfully in her sleep. It didn’t help that she had a morning term test tomorrow and spent half the day running errands for Victoria. She just couldn’t figure it out! Was Victoria on meds, that’s causing her to act that way? Did God do a Freaky Friday and switched Victoria with Kate Marsh or something? _Just what the hell was going on?!_

Oh, she was going to find out, alright, if it’s the last thing she does in this damned Academy. ‘ _I will restore Victoria back to her formal glory!’_ , Courtney fiercely promised herself.

And with that thought, she could finally rest peacefully in her sleep.

.

.

.

Courtney picked up a few habits of Victoria, over the past few days since she started intently observing her. Like how Victoria kept sneaking glances over to Max when she thought Max wasn’t looking. Or how whenever Max squealed one of her moronic hipster phrases, like “That’s cereal!’, Victoria would turn her head away and hide her tiny smile in the shadows. _Strange, very strange indeed._

She puzzled over Victoria’s behaviour. It’s almost as if Vicky has caught feel- NO. NO. That just isn’t possible. Courtney would not even entertain the sheer possibility of that repulsive thought. She even felt the hairs on her arm stand. _Yuck._

That pairing was akin to the female versions of Draco Malfoy and Dobby, the house elf.. Just no. NO.

She will need more evidence of this… atrocity. _‘Nothing is substantial without proof’_ , Courtney thought with a sigh of relief. Maybe, she’s just overthinking all of this drama. Maybe Vicky is in some sort of limbo because of some possible secret life crisis that she isn’t ready to share with her. _Who knows? Rich people have tons of problems, right?_

But, even as she tried to ignore it, Victoria’s behaviour just got even more bizarre. For example, just yesterday, Courtney, instead of observing Victoria like she usually does, opted for a change in her method, and observed Max instead, since she just couldn’t make any progress with Victoria’s behaviour. Max, acted normal, and normal as in boring as fuck. She just doodles on her sketchbook, looks up in fright and has a ‘deer-caught-in-the-headlights’ look when Mr Jefferson calls her out. Repeat pathetic cycle. Just what on _earth,_ was so interesting about her that Victoria had to steal glances at Max?

What’s even stranger was that she felt a flick of something hard against her ear.

‘Ow! What was that for?’, Courtney whispered angrily at Victoria. However, when she turned to look at Victoria, she was startled at what she saw; Vic was clearly, silently fuming, her face scrunched up in a scowl, a subtle yet powerful fury blazing in her green eyes. Courtney raised her eyebrows up until her hairline, and gave a bewildered expression, _‘What the fuck did I do?’_

‘Stop ogling Max and concentrate on the lesson! Don’t you want your Twenty One Pilot band tickets?’, Victoria remarked with a condescending smirk. ‘ _How dare she!_ ’', Courtney widened her eyes in response. It was unacceptable! She got threatened and blackmailed just for staring at Max for a few minutes?! Courtney felt as if she’d been plunged into a parallel universe and Heaven was Hell and Hell was Heaven. If that made sense. She didn’t know anymore. All she knew was that she needed help. Serious help. Even if that meant crossing the trenches, all the way to the ‘Holier than thou’, Kate Marsh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably noticed I made Courtney just a teeny weeny bit sadistic towards Max, But I couldn't help it! It just seemed natural for Courtney, Vic's ever-loving servant, to release this antagonistic side of her. More plot coming up soon.. I'm really excited!  
> Also, I would love to hear your thoughts on this piece! The writing style is a little bit different, I got confused on the format of writing internal monologue and bits of narrative together. Hopefully, this chapter was easy to read for you guys.. but damn was Courtney so fun to write! Especially after being spurned by Vic for Max.. Can't imagine what would that do to a loyal pet XD..


	4. The Deal.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate and Courtney make an unlikely deal, to help each other figure out why their respective best friends have been acting out of sorts lately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fic is taking a different turn right now. I have many routes imagined for this fic, but somehow my fingers led me to this path while typing it out. Hope y'all enjoy!

Kate Marsh was interrupted from her quiet reading, rather rudely, by a hand slapping on the table right beside her book. She looked up in surprise, only to see the face of Courtney Wagner, Victoria’s loyal pet, scowling down at her. ‘ _Gods, is it another prank? I don't think I can take much more of this_ ,’ thought Kate as she took a deep breath to calm herself. As she was about to question her, Courtney abruptly turned away and left but not before giving Kate a pointed look. ‘ _What the hell was that about?’_ , Kate wondered as her brows knitted in confusion. When she got back to her reading, she discovered a crumpled note on the place where Courtney just slammed her hand.

‘ _Meet me ASAP at my dorm. Urgent._ ’, were the words scribbled down hastily. And as if she knew Kate wouldn’t be convinced by the sloppy handwriting to follow Courtney’s orders, there was a smaller sentence written at the bottom right, ‘ _It’s about Max…Life or Death situation_ ’. Now that got her attention immediately. She thought if she should relay this rather unexpected note to Max, but she didn’t want to alarm Max and worsen her mood any further. Lately, she noticed Max to be rather gloomy. Her posture worsened - her back slouched even more and her feet dragged while walking - as if the burden bearing down on her was too heavy to even take a step forward. She worried about Max, and she didn’t know how to help her. Maybe Courtney could shed some light on this, even if she had no idea how Courtney would even know what was plaguing Max, since she always looked at Max as if she’s the dirt under her shoes.

.

.

As Kate made a hesitant knock on Courtney’s room, she wasn’t prepared for the firm hand grab that appeared as fast as lightning and pulled her into the room. Kate’s heart beat fast, unsure of Courtney’s motives. However, Courtney just started to frantically pace around in a small circle, whispering to herself. Kate could pick out words like,’Vicky..Max’s fault..crazy..bitch’, from Courtney’s frantic whispers. While waiting for Courtney to get her thoughts together, Kate took a look around the room. ‘ _Wow, I didn’t know Courtney was so...dull_ ’ Kate observed, as she took note of the simplistic style of room, bare of any decorations except for the luxury goods lying around as if they were dirty laundry. ‘ _Good to know that she doesn’t have a life outside of Victoria’s kindly sponsored goods_ ’, Kate remarked, with a smirk.

‘I can _hear_ you judging my room!’ Courtney said in a high pitched voice. Kate didn’t know why that cracked her up. Maybe it was due to the stress of socialising with the Queen Bitch’s (Max taught her the term, which she found very suitable for Victoria) sidekick who was acting rather mental at the moment. ’I’m sorry’ Kate managed to squeeze out in between giggles. Kate rambled on, ‘It’s just.. I’m Kate and you’re Courtney so we’re not even supposed to be in the same room together, but we are and you’re acting crazy and somehow managed to hear me judging your room. It’s all rather bizarre actually.’

At Courtney’s dumbfounded face, Kate immediately covered her mouth with a squeak and stared at Courtney with wide eyes. Courtney took a moment to recover and rolled her eyes, ‘You’re so like Max, it’s no wonder you guys are best friends and thus have similar weird traits. I pulled you here, NOT to have some pathetic tea session like you do with that weasel and have you judge my pristine room, but to tell you that Vicky is acting weird and it’s your runt’s fault.’ Courtney stood expectantly with her arms folded, as if she expected Kate to know what the hell she was talking about.

‘Well, for your information, Max has been acting weird too, and I think it has to do with your Queen Bitch. In fact, my theory seems more plausible than yours given that the Queen Bitch has tormented Max for months!’ Kate argued, raising her voice towards the end. Courtney took awhile to reply, given that she never saw Kate act so confrontational before. Kate herself didn’t know why she was able to bring her courage up and talk back to her. It was something she couldn’t imagine doing, even in her wildest dreams. It gave her a thrill, to do so. But this courage was also partly inspired by hearing Max being blamed for a ridiculous thing, especially given that Courtney told her Max was somehow in grievous danger but ended up making Max look like the villain, even though she was quite clearly suffering.

‘Well, erm,’ Kate never thought she would gain satisfaction from hearing the Queen Bitch’s lapdog stutter due to her own outburst, but she did, and she relished it.

‘Well then, clearly something is wrong. From my eyes, Vicky reduced her extent of bullying towards the runt. A disappointment really. ‘ At that point, Kate became even more incensed, but as if knowing Kate was about to burst again, Courtney continued, ’But, have you noticed Max acting strange? Especially since Vic reduced her ‘pursuits’ of her. So, technically, Max should be happier,’ reasoned Courtney.

‘Well, I guess you’re right. Max should be happier. Though I have no idea why Victoria ‘reduced her pursuits’ as you so eloquently put it- ‘ at which Courtney rolled her eyes,’-there is something clearly bothering Max. I think it has to do with Victoria too. Once, I was talking to Max in the school corridor. Then Victoria walked past her. It shouldn’t have affected her in any way, since Victoria didn’t throw her usual verbal punches at Max, which was, by in itself, weird. But, immediately, Max stopped the conversation as if she had a sudden moment of paralysis. Her facial expression changed into something of…longing and...pain? After Victoria left the corridor, Max totally changed into another person. I didn’t recognise her. She didn’t seem interested in my conversation and was lost in deep thought. She had a perpetual frown stuck; I didn’t know how to make it go away. She lost the vibrancy that she just had before Victoria came. So yes, Victoria definitely has something to do with Max’s change in moods.’ Kate finished with a nod.

‘Well geez, I didn’t ask for a whole step-by-step explanation of Max’s mood change.’ Courtney scoffed. Kate rolled her eyes. So like Courtney to act like a bitch when she was trying to actually be nice with her.

‘Tell you what. Try to follow Max around and see what she does in her free time. So, we can find out the link between Vic and the runt. Though, to be honest, I don’t think she does anything else than take selfies and have tea sessions with you. Quite the influencer she is, huh?’ Courtney said with a smirk.

 _‘Trust her to not end a sentence without an insult_ ’, Kate rolled of her eyes.

It was her turn now, to bargain. She will not be used as a tool. ‘I have two conditions, that you have to promise to adhere to, before I comply with you on this…mission. If, at any point in time, you break one of these rules, consider my partnership with you terminated,’ Kate said with a hint of authority in her tone. As Courtney was about to retort, Kate quickly continued, ‘You will respect my rules as I’m sure you’d want, more than anything, to restore your precious Queen to her normal level of bitchiness, so that your life remains punctuated with useless drama that you so absolutely derive joy and happiness from. Without me, you can never achieve said dystopian dream.’ Courtney was at a loss for words, and against her own volition, impressed.

‘ _Never knew Kate had it in her_ ’,Courtney thought, with a raise of her eyebrows.

Kate’s heart was beating fast, for she never had the upper hand before. She now knew why Victoria loved putting people down; the power of being on top was almost overwhelming.

She also knew she had Courtney’s hands tied at her back. They both knew it.

Taking Courtney’s silence as acceptance, Kate relayed her conditions.

‘First, you will stop referring to Max as anything derogatory like ‘runt’ or ‘weasel’ or anything similar. She is my friend and I will not stand for names like that. Her name is MAX. USE IT.’ Kate gave a pointed look to Courtney. She couldn’t sit still while people slandered Max! She had to protect her. That’s the least she should do, as her friend.

Courtney looked mildly irritated but did not protest (though it was a rather difficult task for her not to).

‘Next, since I have been tasked to spy on Max unlawfully, I will task you as well, to spy on Victoria unlawfully. She is rather easy to spy on, since all she does is flaunt her wealth and pick on innocent kids.’ Kate bit back with her own insult, feeling proud and guilty at the same time for doing so. Courtney, to Kate’s surprise, did not retaliate. She scowled, but kept a thoughtful face on, as if Kate’s demands did make sense despite the harshness of it. Kate, sensing Courtney’s thoughtful mood, soothed her demands by adding, ‘We can gather more evidence that way, and so our results will be accurate.’

Courtney huffed, ‘Only you would treat it like a science experiment, like getting accurate results. But yes, you can be rest assured that I will follow your rules like how you follow your Ten Commandments in the bible’.

Kate had no idea the amount of times she rolled her eyes, but she knew that if she were to do it one more time, her eyes would pop out from her sockets. To prevent Courtney from witnessing such a horror, though she would very much like to do so, she dignified Courtney’s response with the most sarcastically sweet smile she could produce.

Courtney narrowed her eyes.

Kate sensed the uncomfortable tension rising, her newfound bravery slowly disappearing. In order to avoid any more unnecessary conflict, she promptly turned on her heels and left the room, but not before remarking, ‘Courtney, if you want to keep up your reputation as being Victoria’s proficient lapdog, at least make the effort to clean your room.’

Courtney’s jaw dropped as Kate closed the door.

‘Bitch.’ Courtney spat out.

 _‘Has everyone lost their minds? Did the world turn upside down Oh yes, it did. That explains why Kate became extroverted and Vicky falling head over heels for-_ ’ Courtney slapped her palm over her forehead, closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she was NOT finishing that train of thought to its unfortunate end. She will get through this sticky period, without ever having to finish that thought.

Though, it itched in the back of her mind, ‘ _Does my room really look that bad?_ ’

.

After that discussion, Kate felt lighter, if that’s possible, after meeting the Queen Bitch’s sidekick. Not only did she get her to acquiesce to her demands, but she also got the last word in. She felt proud of herself.

She was shocked at how much she changed, all within the span of a single conversation. Courtney really brought out something in her. She’d have to thank her someday.

Now, as she spotted Max entering class, she remembered her 'task' set by Courtney and shifted her entire focus to Max. _Now_ , _the mission begins_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kate's got some development there, as with her 'friendship' with Courtney. I just love the Courtney And Kate 'frenemy' dynamic where their relationship with each other's close friends, i.e. Kate with Vic and Courtney with Max, are at best, antagonistic. It was very fun to write it. The next chapter gets to the real deets, where we'll see Max's secret moments. *wink wink*  
> Also, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chap ;)


	5. The Mission I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kate, as instructed by Courtney, spies on Max in order to understand what exactly was plaguing her best friend. Things turned out to be a lot more troubling than she expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Back again with the angst, spying, and lovelorn lovebirds! I swear, my heart broke for Max in this chapter. But well, love isn't without its complications.. Enjoy!

I conveniently hid in the shadows, beside Stella’s locker, looking out for Max. _Honestly, I can’t believe I’m doing this. How did Courtney rope me into this again?_

Max came out of Mr Jefferson’s class, after a small talk with him about her dropping grades. ‘ _Oh right, it was to help Max out of her self-induced depression that came out of nowhere’,_ I felt hurt that she always seemed to be willing to listen to me rant about my problems but never once confided in me, as I did in her.

It was no secret that Max started to lose her coveted position as a closeted talented photographer, ever since Mr Jefferson started ramping on the heat up on her after her multiple failed quizzes. Even Victoria slipped up in a few of them, which shocked the class. Victoria _never_ slips in any test. _There must be a link..._

I watched Max grab her books from her locker, then slowly slug her way through the crowd, as if she had iron chains around her ankles. Even looking at her now, I despaired for her. Back when she was ‘normal’, Max always had a spring in her steps, her eyes bright, and a spirit always ever ready for adventure. Compared to the old Max, this new Max was totally unrecognisable. Head drooped, tired, faded blue eyes, sluggish steps created an air of fatigue and loneliness around her, even with friends like Stella and Alyssa around her. It angered me, to see her change like that, within a span of a few weeks and that I was useless in stopping it. But now I had a plan, and it made me more determined, hopeful even, that her supposed illness can be cured. _I will not fail you Max, like I did the last time._

I followed her at a close distance, paying close attention to her facial expressions. She exited out of Blackwell and walked to the dorms. _Okay, so far, everything’s normal. I can’t believe I’m acting like a CIA agent. I’m so going to get Courtney for this if nothing comes up._

Suddenly, Max stopped, in the middle of the pathway, her head turned to something in the distance, as if she were transfixed by the sight. I was puzzled. What could have captured her attention so abruptly? I followed her line of sight and squinted into the sunlight.

_Victoria?_

There, at the small park, just northwest of the Academy, was Victoria lying on her side on the grass, laughing daintily at something Nathan said, with a little sunflower tucked behind her ear. Her lilting laughter carried by the wind, which was how, I suppose, Max had heard her. Unless Max had superhuman hearing that is.

I had to admit, Victoria looked good from this angle, her posture showing off her curves - clearly, a very attractive snob - but my intense dislike for her washed away any appreciation I had for her. She was a bully, that was that. No amount of attractiveness can change that. I turned back to Max, just in time to see her whip up her polaroid to snap a shot of… _Victoria?!_

I couldn’t believe it! Why on _earth,_ was Max taking a picture of Victoria, the Queen Bitch, of all people?! Her reaction didn’t make sense. _Maybe, she was starting a photo journal where she took shots of people in their unguarded moments? Yeah, that seems more likely,_ I nodded to myself.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. _‘No way can that happen. The victim falling for the bully? That’s just unheard of, in real life that is, and a toxic relationship if that were to happen…okay, scratch that, I’m never using the word ‘relationship’ when describing both of them.’_

But, as I watched Max walk back to her dorm, I can’t help but notice her posture was different; her steps were more upbeat and had a little bounce to them. Her aura no more radiated the sad gloom it did earlier, instead it felt…happier, like the ‘Old Max’, as if the load on her was lifted up by a little.

My jaw almost dropped.

That wasn’t just any small change. I knew Max. You really had to get to her core even if you just wanted a little quirk of her lips, given her current circumstances. Whatever Victoria inspired in her, even if it’s just by laughing, it managed to evoke Max's old spirit back, the one where she laughs easily, talks about all sorts of random stuff, makes funny faces if you were sad. Just thinking about this old Max, made me realise that she really has changed, for the worse. My heart clenched.

But as quickly as it happened, her seemingly happy mood vanished. She stumbled over something (so like Max to be clumsy over nothing), and we were back to square one, where her deadly gloomy aura revived itself. She started walking faster, as if she couldn’t wait to get away from the Academy and back to her dorm.

I didn’t understand. Victoria managed to elicit two opposing extremes of Max simultaneously. It seems Victoria was the reason for both her joy and her pain (Max really wears her heart on her sleeves). As ridiculous as it sounds. Even though she was a vicious bully. Though not as vicious in the recent few weeks.

All I know now, from this simple observation, is that something happened between Victoria and Max. Something big. Something that cut Max deeply, and as her protector and friend, I am going to find out what.

.

.

‘What do you think of Victoria?’ I asked, while eating lunch with Max in the cafeteria. Max was sipping on her apple juice and abruptly started to choke on it. _Great idea Kate. Ask Max about the source of her self-induced depression while she’s drinking her juice_

I immediately went over, patted her back and waited for her to recover patiently. Her reaction confirmed my theory. My heart sank. Something did happen with Victoria. I just didn’t know what.

‘Wh-why would you er, ask that? Nothing happened at all!’ Max panicked, eyes darting around.

Gently, I said, ‘I didn’t ask what happened Max. I asked what you thought of her. Though, did something really happen?’

‘No-nothing! Nothing at all! But to answer your question, she’s still a Queen Bitch to me.’ Max answered in a shaky voice, trying to pull off a snarky tone at the end. Her face looked pale.

 _Sigh_. I knew a lie when I saw one. Especially Max. Since she can’t lie for nuts. Like on my birthday, when she tried to convince me that the small box she was carrying wasn’t holding a tea set even though the label was clearly written, ‘Elegant, British Tea Sets’. _Best gift ever, worst lie ever._

‘Hm okay. But if anything’s up, you know you can tell me, right?’ I said to her, reassuringly. At Max’s hesitant look, I added, ‘Really. I won’t judge. I will try my best to help you. I will even make sure that a guardian angel gets attached to you so that you don’t fall and trip over everything.’

That last sentence earned me a small smile. My heart leaped. A small smile is a step closer to victory, no matter how infinitesimally small it was.

‘What, now you can communicate with Heaven? Oh, while you’re at it, maybe can you ask them to bring me a Heaven-made double ham sandwich? The food here on Earth is just terrible, well except for the Two-Whales diner.’ Max quipped; the corners of her mouth upturned.

I laughed. I haven’t laughed with Max in a long while. It was nice, for a change. Maybe I put her worries at ease, with my offer to help.

I was wrong. So, so, wrong.

Her mood slowly changed back. Max’s small precious smile faded and a small frown was put in its place. Her shoulders drooped slightly. Her eyes gave off that faraway look, where I knew her mind was a thousand miles away from me. I sighed. Clearly, I had to do more than that. I was still no closer to the solution. I wondered how Courtney was doing with her part of the mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, Kate trying to be the knight in shining armour for Max. Though we all know who that should rightfully be heh *wink wink*  
> Though I admire Kate for still trying, I felt that's what she would most likely do, in the game. I want a friend like Kate hehe
> 
> Anyways, next chapter will be about Courtney's observations about poor lovesick Icky Vicky.. stay tuned!  
> As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter! Your comments keep me going ;)


	6. The Mission II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Courtney goes about spying on her leader, searching for any discrepancies in her behaviour. She wasn't prepared for the evidence hit her like a ton of bricks.  
> Both Kate and Courtney later reconvene, to discuss their rather unusual and unexpected findings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Long chapter ahead! Courtney's musings and their eventual decision to forever change the lovebirds' life! Enjoy ;)

_Tap, tap, tap._ Victoria’s nails drummed on the tabletop. I was bored out of my mind. I thought spying on Vic would be fun (anyway spying made no difference since I was with Vic all the time, until she dismissed me, that is), but all Vic’s done is _sulk_. I knew she was sulking, even though her outward appearance gave no indication that she was - with her pristine smirk unwavering in its place – but her eyes were downcast, in silent contemplation, with the occasional sigh coming out of her.

Vic didn’t talk about how shit her day was, or how Mr Jefferson was still immune to her advances, or how the jocks were disgusting and smelly and that the useless principal should do something about that instead of raising funds for the handicapped (aka the more useless). It was just, mute silence, while Taylor rattled on about Zack possibly cheating on her.

I wasn’t used to this. But, this sort of behaviour was becoming sort of a norm. I didn’t like it.

_Well, best get on with the mission._

I was about to ask Vic how she was holding up, when I saw Vic immediately look up, and swallow, her eyes tracing the figure that captured her attention. I raised my eyebrow and looked up too.

 _Of course, it’s the dear old wea- stop. Kate said no name-calling_. I may be a bitch, but I followed my promises through and through.

Max, (feels weird to say her name genuinely), just walked past Vic, looking all sad and gloomy as usual.

I still didn’t know what Vic saw in Max. But the fact that just the sight of Max could elicit this kind of miserable reaction from Victoria, my Queen Bitch, made me more determined to pursue my mission in greater intensity. That is, to observe Victoria like Sherlock Holmes, the great detective. Contrary to popular belief, I do prefer the occasional detective flick to normal chick flicks like ‘Clueless’.

So, throughout the whole day, I kept a lookout on Victoria’s body language. Her every muscle shift, from facial expressions to body movements. Vic can be very mysterious and opaque when she wants to, producing very convincing fake smiles so that no one can ever know what was truly going on in that head of hers. This used to fascinate me, the fact that Victoria could portray herself to be any type of person she wanted to be, like a flawless actor. She had everyone whipped around her finger, well, except Max. Vic used to say Max was like a ‘glitch in the matrix’. Now however, I would say, Max was a glitch in _Victoria’s_ matrix.

She somehow, by fate or by luck, has the ability to startle Victoria (for a lack of a better word) and produce, interesting reactions from Vicky. Like earlier, where the sight of Max made Victoria act in a very unusual way, far from the norm of Queen Bitch. For comparison sake, the Queen Bitch would have stuck out her leg and made Max trip, or thrown a verbal punch at her, for no reason other than to be simply mean. But she didn’t. She did none of that. In that moment, she was no longer Queen Bitch. She was just…Victoria Chase, a girl who somehow gets overwhelmed at the sight of a plain-looking girl.

Was I proud of this change? Definitely not. But I had to help her. She was my friend, as much as she was my leader. And she’s clearly torn up over Max.

Thus, I narrowed my focus on Victoria down to anything Max-related. And found out a lot. Almost too much for my poor black heart to bear.

.

.

It was the selfie I found of Max, in Victoria’s folder. I found it when I rummaged through Victoria’s backpack while she went to the bathroom. Vic’s backpack held delicious little secrets. These secrets were her personal little touches (which she never revealed to anyone but herself); her little anime stickers on her folders, little rants written on the side of her worksheets about her internal struggles and her personal collection of her favourite photos. These were treasures, and I longed to take my sweet time with them, to discover and shed light on who Victoria really was. The real jewel behind all the Oscar-worthy acting. But Victoria would be back any minute now, so I had to search for the best clue quickly.

I chose to take a look at the most easily inferential evidence, which was her collection of photos (a picture speaks a thousand words after all). Out of which, I found that unfortunate selfie. My heart almost stopped when I saw it. It confirmed my cause of denial, to the point where my denial was eviscerated, by just a selfie. Apparently, despite harbouring an intense dislike for the ‘selfie ho of Blackwell’, Victoria secretly appreciated Max’s selfies, and must have stolen it from Max; If that wasn’t a clear indicator of Victoria’s affection for Max, I didn’t know what was.

Sigh. I didn’t want to admit it, but I had to. The evidence was overwhelming.

_‘Victoria has a crush on Max’_

There, I finally said it. The thought that I never wanted complete.

I didn’t know why, of all people, would Victoria choose Max, as the beholder of her eye, considering her plainness that just made her so…dull. Nothing about her was outstanding, only the fact that she refused to cow to Victoria’s insults, for which I could give her a little credit for. I always thought Victoria would have ended up with Nathan, but somehow, Max managed to beat Nathan, the rich attractive boy (albeit a little psychotic) - with her plainness - that in itself, was an incredible feat. Max must have something Victoria finds valuable and attractive. Just what was it though? Something that I can never see, but Victoria could.

The problem now, would be what to do with this...exotic finding. I wondered if Kate knew.

.

.

Kate found a note in her locker, the next day. It was short, devoid of any explanations, _‘My dorm. 2pm.’_ She didn’t have to guess who it was from. Though she appreciated Courtney for not slamming her table to deliver her ‘very secret’ note, like the previous time.

She made haste to Courtney’s dorm, also eager to share what she had gathered from Max. Even though it was unsettling, in nature.

She entered Courtney’s dorm without knocking, this time. She didn’t want to be roughly manhandled into the room like the previous time. Courtney whirled around and narrowed her eyes at Kate.

‘Aren’t you supposed to have manners? What happened to knocking?’ Courtney scowled.

‘Well, you summoned me master, with your very detailed note. Now pray tell, what’s the matter?’ Kate couldn’t resist mocking her, even if they had a very important issue to discuss, since Courtney greeted her with a foul attitude.

Courtney snarled, ‘Now isn’t the time for games! Vic has caught terminal illness and there’s no way to cure her!’

Kate was speechless.

‘Whaa?’ Kate still shocked, unable to process the statement.

Courtney smirked, ‘Figuratively, of course. Her illness is Max. Cure; nowhere to be found.’

She took delight in Kate’s range of emotions then, from confusion, to comprehension and finally, exasperation. _That’s for making fun of me just now_

‘So, you’ve probably got some kind of hard evidence to reach that conclusion, right?’ Kate asked, ignoring Courtney’s attempt to incense her.

Remembering the observations she made on her mission, Courtney shuddered.

‘Kate, you have no idea. No idea at all. This is all just some flaming ball of mess of hormones, desperation and _yearning,_ ’ Courtney scrunched up her nose, as she slowly pronounced the word ‘yearning’ as if she couldn’t fathom people _yearning,_ much less Vic and Max doing it for each other.

 _‘Wow, she must really be affected by this_ ,’ Kate thought.

‘That’s what I found out too. Well, not as dramatic as yours, but Max seems to feel…significantly for Victoria. She was very affected by the sight and sound of Victoria. Very unusual indeed.’

Courtney rolled her eyes.

‘Gosh, can you be any more scientific? Can’t you just say she has feelings for- HOLY SHIT’ Courtney’s face grew pale with the realisation. She thought it was just a one-sided infatuation; a minor fault on Vic’s part. She didn’t know it went both ways. _That was some serious shit right there._

Kate chuckled, ‘Yeah holy shit is right. So, it seems, from your reaction, Victoria feels for Max too?’ The last few words felt foreign on her tongue. It was like saying Nathan had feelings for Warren. It was, very unfamiliar and alien territory, they were treading on.

Courtney, having recovered from her shock, replied numbly, ‘Yeah, Found one of Max’s selfies in Vic’s super-secret anime folder.’

‘….Oh.’

Kate had trouble processing that. Somehow, that sentence was made of words that weren’t meant to coexist with each other, in her life at Blackwell Academy.

Courtney looked around, as if she’d lost all hope. ‘Well, what do we do now?’

The excitement of embarking on the mission was over. The results of the mission shocked them both cold; both reluctant to press the issue any further.

‘We do nothing. Let nature take its course.’ Kate said gently. It was the sensible and right thing to do.

Memories of Victoria’s dejection resurfaced, and Courtney made a noise that sounded like a whine.

Kate raised her eyebrows.

Courtney began on a rant, ‘We can’t just sit around and let them fester in their own pit of hell where they think neither of them notices each other! As much as I would like to drop this, and pretend it never happened, I can’t. They both have feelings for each other but are too chicken to approach each other. Nature wouldn’t even come close to helping them, given Vic’s stubbornness and Max’s obliviousness. They both clearly complement each other.’

A silence stretched after that. Both shocked at Courtney’s outburst.

‘Wow, I didn’t know you felt so passionate about them’ Kate remarked, with a slight smirk, but also admittedly impressed by Courtney’s willingness to step in.

Courtney simply gave her a look that said, _‘Don’t push it_.’

Kate grinned, but it faded as her doubts started creeping in. ‘I don’t know. I don’t feel comfortable stepping in. It’s like we’re messing with them. What if things turn out to be horribly wrong? Or that all this excitement is just getting to our heads and we’re making a big deal out of nothing? What if- ‘

Courtney interrupted Kate’s worries, with a reassuring smile, ‘We’ll never know if we don’t try right? Plus, we are their best friends. We know them better than anyone else, and right now, they’re being complete idiots. I mean, look at them. I have never seen such lovesick saps in my life. So, there’s no chance we’re overcomplicating this matter.’

_When did Courtney become so wise?_

‘Are you Courtney Wagner? Or is that Stella? Did you do a freaky Friday? Because I can’t believe the person who worshipped the ground Victoria walked on, and hated people like Max who apparently dirty that pristine floor, is rooting for them to be together!’ Kate teased, but also mildly curious at Courtney’s change in character.

Kate described Courtney perfectly - she was in a literal paradox. But Max was the saviour to Victoria's miseries, so she had to put her prejudices about Max to sleep and support them together.

Courtney huffed, ‘One more word and you’re out the door.’

Kate giggled, and held up her hands in surrender. ‘Okay okay, I’m sorry. Can we start over? I felt like we started on the wrong foot here.’ _What was happening? She was apologising to Courtney? Never in her wildest dreams, would she have imagined this._

Courtney was nonplussed at Kate’s unexpected apology. She hesitated, ‘Fine. I’m sorry too. Let’s just get this over with. I’m starting to have a headache, thinking about work we have to do, for them to _finally_ realise they’re soulmates for each other’ Courtney put her hand on her forehead and released an exaggerated sigh.

‘It’s simple. We break into their rooms, find something that they have of each other, put it in a folder and send it back to them! They’ll finally know of their feelings for each other and hoorah! Arcadia bay is no more the miserable, forlorn, lovesick bay it was a few weeks ago. If we’re lucky, we might see them holding hands tomorrow,’ Kate brainstormed excitedly, the plan coming beautifully into fruition in her head.

She wasn’t excited about Max’s choice in partners at first, but she's learned to come around it, and look at it from a different perspective. It wasn't a 'victim-bully' dynamic anymore. It was just two people, mutually pining for each other, hoping the other person could just grace them a look and hear their wanton thoughts about each other. It was all very heart-wrenching and agonising to watch from a distance. She couldn’t stand much more of it.

Courtney stared at her like she’d grown two heads. ‘That’s brilliant Kate! I’m proud that you came up with this idea on your own and practically didn’t steal it off from the chick flick genres that basically have this plot for every single romantic movie!’ Courtney replied sarcastically.

Kate huffed indignantly, ‘What? You got a better idea? Oh, why not we lock both Max and Victoria in the same room for 24 hours? That ought to get the results the fastest,’ Kate replied, in kind.

Courtney rolled her eyes. ‘Sheesh. Don’t get your panties in a twist just because I didn’t want to support your fantasy. Fine, if you want it so much, we’ll do it. It kinda seems logical too. Since they’ll never share their scandalous thoughts about each other together, we might as well deliver it to them, first-hand.’ Courtney shrugged, as if it was common sense to anyone that this plan was so going to work.

‘Yay! Alright! I’d better get planning. I’ll correspond with you through texts, so that we don’t alert the lovebirds that we’re up to any mischief’ Kate grinned, hands clasping together, as if she waited her whole life for this forbidden fantasy of hers to become reality.

Courtney sighed, Kate was treating this as if it were some sort of fun, love experiment, and not the case of two very delicate, fragile, lovelorn souls, who will bolt at any moment of vulnerability. In this case, Kate’s plan involved exposing their vulnerabilities to each other. _Sounds like a nuclear disaster. Oh boy._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, big plan ahead huh.. I honestly don't know how this will pan out, so the next chap might take a week or so..
> 
> But damn, loved Courtney's transformation here, her opinion of Max changed from 'vile rat' to 'Victoria's saviour'. Beautiful.  
> As always, I'd love your thoughts on this chap or any suggestions for the big plan ahead too!


	7. D-Day.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max and Victoria read each other's letters, and proceed to have the biggest mind fuck of their lives ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here. My brain is fried. But I had fun writing it. Enjoy!

It was Sunday. The afternoon heat made her feel unproductive, not able to concentrate on anything. Not that she was being productive previously anyway, given how restless her mind was, always flitting back and forth between fantasising about Victoria and berating herself for being pathetically infatuated.

Sigh.

She looked up at her wall of selfies; it was her pride, her masterpiece. Every single photo contained a significant memory of her life. There were countless photos of her together with Chloe or Kate or Warren. This wall reminded her to be grateful for these people every day, for without them, she would have lost herself in trying to be part of the traditional Blackwell Academy mould. Like she could ever be.

There was that one person who constantly reminded her of her inability to fit in. That person was the newest addition to her wall, placed right at the centre, ironically. Her snapshot had caught that person in her most carefree moments, where she wasn’t concerned about putting up the ‘Queen Bee’ façade in front of her minions. If Max tried hard enough, she swore she could still hear the blonde’s laughter ringing through the park, with a little sunflower tucked behind her ear. It was so unlike Victoria to loosen up like that, that Max couldn’t resist the urge to capture that moment forever. She only wished that, Victoria’s rarely seen vulnerability in that moment was caused by her, that her precious lilting laughter was directed at her.

She looked away from her wall, having no idea why she put up Victoria’s snapshot if she herself couldn’t stare at it without feeling an immense longing in her chest, threatening to overwhelm her whole.

As she glanced about her room, wanting a distraction from the usual rabbit-hole her thoughts fell through when thinking about Victoria, she noticed a red-coloured note stuck to the top right of her monitor. How the hell had she not noticed that before, she didn’t know. Probably because she was too caught up moping about Victoria.

She walked towards her computer and picked the offending note up.

‘Max, I’m so so, sorry. Everything I did, was for you. I know you’re probably confused. But you’ll understand why when you check your sent and received mail now. I give you my most heartfelt wishes for your happiness. – Kate, your bestie.’

Max’s eyes widened after reading it. What did Angelic Kate do that would possibly warrant an apology note?

She quickly checked her inbox, not at all prepared for what she was going to see next.

In her inbox, was a terrifying email, from a terrifying person, Victoria Chase. It was titled, ‘My Chivalrous Knight.’ This has got to be a joke, right? A prank? Was it April’s fools? She checked the date; it was February 19th. Nope, not April’s fools. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

She clicked open the attachment and was almost convinced that she went back in time and somehow switched realities.

This was a letter, crushing about _her_ , from _Victoria fucking Chase?!_ Her heart almost stopped. For eternity.

No, no, no. She did ask for help to deal with the deadly crush she was having on her but…this was just on a whole another level. In fact, it was the perfect answer to her help. But perfect answers don’t exist in reality, as she learnt while waddling through the lower rungs of the social ladder in Blackwell. That was just a law of the universe. But apparently the universe has no qualms about this letter existing since it’s _just sitting right in front of her!_

Max rubbed her eyes furiously, making sure that what she’s seeing was real and not a figment of her imagination. It was still there. _Fuck, it’s real._

Her legs suddenly felt weak at this realisation. She dropped to her knees. She felt that she was about to faint. Everything else was muted but the sound of her blood rushing through her veins.

‘Adorkable…Cute…Bold…’ words she never thought Victoria would ever utter about her. Of all people!

Her hipster style was ‘adorkable?!’ _Just what in the world…_

The word ‘adorkable’ shouldn’t even exist in Victoria’s vocabulary. The Victoria she thought she knew would have started a vile campaign against the use of that word, if she were to gain awareness of it. But yet, it was there. Plain as day, for anyone to see, in a letter that was dedicated to her, for god’s sake! The one thing that Victoria made most fun out of her (other than her habit of taking selfies), which was her hipster style, was actually something that Victoria secretly admired. _Victoria was honestly the most confusing human being ever. Period._

So, all the things Victoria found weird about her, like her inability to fit in, or her genuine kindness to people who were social outcasts, were things that made Victoria like her in the first place? It was all very mind-boggling indeed, but nonetheless very flattering. In fact, reading this made her heart do little jumping jacks because Victoria, her crush, liked her for _her_ , that is, lame little Max with her weird-as-fuck quirks and plain-faced appearance, which wasn’t very plain-faced at all as according to Victoria, the colour of her eyes was akin to Van Gogh’s Starry Night! _Wowzers! Victoria saying her eyes were as dreamy as that famed hypnotic painting?!_ Honestly, that was the best romantic compliment she could ever receive in her life, and it was from her rival!

She could just die of happiness right then and there. It was a good enough end. But she couldn’t die yet, not after reading the entire piece.

_‘My chivalrous knight, can’t you save me too?’_

Victoria sounded so small and vulnerable with that phrase, as if the burden of living out her life was suffocating her. Max’s heart clenched for her. She didn’t know that Victoria was suffering too, given how she always hid her true feelings beneath a veneer of calm, cool collectedness, with her ever-present prideful smirk to top it off. She felt like hugging Victoria now, protecting her from the harsh reality that shaped her into who she was now.

Max also noted that, that phrase was typed out at the very end, as if added reluctantly as an afterthought. She was glad that Victoria put it in, as it was beautifully poetic, conveying Victoria’s quiet desperation for her in a single phrase. _Gosh, Victoria, desperate for her?!_ Max’s mind was probably going to explode at any moment right now.

It was a thought, so alien to her, that she thought Warren could have been the one behind this letter, impersonating Victoria. She dismissed that thought as soon as it came; Warren could never be that conniving. But she still couldn’t process it – the idea that Victoria Chase craves Max Caulfield as much as Max Caulfield craves Victoria Chase. _I think I’m going to have a heart attack._

This monumental transformation of Victoria was something that Max couldn’t comprehend. One didn’t just go around not liking cheese to liking it! This change of perception was too sudden, abrupt in her mind.

She couldn’t handle this change. She had been so used to Victoria hating her, that the knowledge of Victoria having a crush on her was almost too much for her to bear. It was bordering on the edge of incredulity. She received all that she craved for months, in a single second. She felt that she could explode, with all the feelings bubbling inside of her and sprout out wings from her back and fly away to Neverland, where children never have to grow up and don’t have to deal with traumatic shit that comes with life. _Like when you receive a letter from your crush, crushing about you._

Max was no doubt brimming with joy, even though she felt like escaping this reality at the same time. It was a weird feeling. It was like being on a rollercoaster ride; there was the excitement of it swooping down the tracks but at the same time, there’s a fear that you won’t survive it. She’d just resigned herself to a one-sided infatuation, but to change all of that suddenly, over a letter, for which she still had doubts about its authenticity? It was asking a lot.

Plus, Victoria would never say these things. It was impossible! Just downright inconceivable! _‘But, if it was really incomprehensible,’_ a rational voice told her (probably the part of the mind that dissociated from the emotional trauma Victoria’s letter caused), _‘then Victoria would have never sent it out. Her pride was too important. She would have left this letter to rot in her laptop until her laptop decomposed in a 1000 years! Think about it, someone else must have sent it out.’_

A realisation dawned upon her in slow terror, as to the reason of Kate’s apology. Max mustered all her strength to break out of her reverie and checked her sent mail. To her utmost horror, an email containing her own ‘help letter’ was sent to Victoria fucking Chase, the very person she fantasised and drooled all over about in that letter! She immediately thought, without an ounce of guilt, _‘I’m so going to kill Kate.’_

.

.

In the privacy of her room, with her stereo blasting her dope hip-hop songs, Victoria allowed herself a moment’s reprieve from her torturous thoughts about Max Caulfield and started to smoke a little weed. Weed helped, to get rid of those thoughts, even if for only a little while. She couldn’t take the beating she inflicted on her mind and heart every day, to stop herself from thinking about Max. Every thought of Max produced a slight pleasure but also a deep sense of shame. Shame that she liked someone who was not ‘pedigree’ standard as her parents would have expected. Shame that, it was the person who managed to escape her vicious claw of social brainwashing. And most of all, shame that she fell for someone that provoked her insecurities in such a way that she constantly felt undervalued and threatened. _Love was just so fucking wonderful, wasn’t it?_

As her parents always said, _‘Life is unfair. Deal with it.’_

So, she dealt with it in her own way, by ignoring Max at all costs, and investing herself in other people like Nathan. She thought, the more she could get away from Max, the better.

Oh how wrong she was. In fact, it made her more miserable and detached from her life, like she was burying the most precious part of her in the ground, the part that felt deeply about anything and everything, from her schoolwork to life in general.

She thought she could make it work, but she found that she was acting out the life of another Victoria Chase in a different reality, in which she wasn’t madly obsessed with Max Caulfield but with Nathan instead. It was weird. She could definitely become that Other Victoria, given her Oscar-worthy acting. Her parents would be happy for her, and she’ll never have to worry about disappointing them. But she knew, deep down inside, she’ll never be truly happy (as cringey and lame that sounded, it was the absolute truth).

She sighed. As she took another drag from the roll, her phone popped with a loud ‘ping!’. She huffed with irritation. _Oh, what is it now? Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so goddamn popular…_

‘Hi Vic. Just wanted to say, you’re my best friend ever and I would never ever want to hurt you. Please take a deep breath before checking your inbox and sent mail. You’re going to hate me for what I did, but I did it in your best interest. Goodluck Vicky. I’m sorry. - Courtney’

Victoria was alarmed. _What the fuck. Can’t anyone get a break around here?_

Her mind whirled with all the possibilities that would have resulted from Courtney sending this message. Did Courtney rat her out to the principal about her blackmailing people? Or when she bullied Kate to her breaking point? Or when she threw her sandwich wrapper on the floor, just to give Samuel, the creepy janitor, a hard time? She felt let down, in all honesty. She trusted Courtney. But she guessed, that she couldn’t blame her, she’s done far too much evil to deserve any good.

That’s the problem with being on top of the food chain. You could do anything and get away with it but in the process, you lose sight of what’s wrong and what’s right. _Ugh_. She didn’t have time to be philosophical about the life of being a rich snob. She needed to deal with whatever shit Courtney put her in.

She walked slowly over to her laptop, cherishing what little peace she has, now that she knows she’s going to lose it forever once she opens her inbox. _Just get it over with, Vic._

Her calmness evaporated in an instant. The email titled, ‘My Lovely Queen’, from Maxine Caulfield, was enough to sober her up. She swallowed.

This can’t be right. Max must have sent it to the wrong email address. It was probably intended for Kate; her heart plummeted at that. But how can anyone fuck up their email addresses so badly? As far as she knew, Victoria and Kate weren’t in any way similar in spelling, and in life itself.

Maybe her blue-haired rebel friend dared her to send this? Was she drunk again? There’s no way little Max would have sent this to her, the ‘Queen Bitch’, while sober or uninfluenced.

Well, the email couldn’t be that bad right? She was curious as to what Max would have written in an email having an honourable title like that. 

She opened the attachment. As she read the first few words, she quickly clicked the ‘x’ button to close it. She then counted her breaths until ten, so as to regain her composure. Okay, maybe her wanton thoughts about Max were getting in the way of reality. _Clear your head, that definitely wasn’t a letter from Max, crushing about you._

She opened the document again. _Shit_. The words didn’t change. Her heart rate increased with every word she read, but she wasn’t processing them. Her mind turned to slush. But her eyes kept going, roving over sentence after sentence, her heart hammering in her chest. Nothing else mattered, not the weed she dropped on the floor as soon as she opened the document, or Courtney’s troubling text, but the screen in front of her and the words on it. She was going into hyperventilation.

A voice at the back of her head snickered, _‘Perfectly poised Victoria Chase hyperventilating? Now that’s just unheard of.’_ She silenced it, closed her eyes, and willed her heartrate to slow. That voice arose only when she was acting very ‘Un-Victoria’ like, like now. She took a few calming breaths, summoned her courage and braved the letter again. This time, she read slowly, processing every word and taking in their meaning deeply.

There was no way Max wrote this about her. Just no _fucking_ way. Because everything in this letter was describing just how fucking perfect, she was. Everything she did, either the way she dressed or the way she treated people, was described with affection and dare she say, _lust_. All the shame she felt about herself earlier was gone, dissolved into nothingness, and was replaced with feelings of pride and self-worth. She relearnt about herself in this letter, through the ever-observant eyes of Max - like how she was _alluring, desirable, feared even_. Max made her sound like a predator for god’s sake, well, not out for blood but for power. Max admired that she was able to acquire that social power, with just her existence (and with the help of her wealthy background, of course).

 _Interesting_.

She thought Max hated her for that, considering the despicable way she had treated Max in the past few months. She thought she was too far gone for redemption.

But yet, she wasn’t, in Max’s eyes at least.

The phrase from her letter, ‘How could someone be this… _godly_?’ was the final nail in the coffin which knocked the wind out of her. She suddenly felt light-headed, dots were littered about her vision; she was going to faint. She gripped her desk with white knuckles. She was _not_ going to faint because she got emotional over a letter. Not yet, at least.

Godly?! Her?! First, she was a seductive predator and now she was a Goddess?! Wow. Max…really had a way with turning her into a pile of goo with just her words. She knew Max didn’t type that out for the sake of typing it for a prank; she really meant it. She could literally feel Max’s reverence for her through her words. If anybody could swoon her legs right off, it would be Max and her cheesy love letter. Well, it wasn’t cheesy. It was beautiful. Enthralling. Never in her wildest dreams, would she have imagined someone fawning over her in a love letter. Least of all, that person being her crush, Max Caulfield! It was something that only happened in the movies. She couldn’t believe the stars in this godforsaken universe that this movie trope was _actually_ happening to her!

The way Max described her, as if there was no one else who could be as captivating and enticing as her. She never felt so beautiful, so treasured, so _worthy_ , in her life. _Oh Maxine._

Despite the incredulity of the situation, she couldn’t help the big grin that stretched her lips far and wide, threatening to split her face into half. The immense joy that erupted from her made it impossible for her to feel anything but joy. She felt that she was on cloud nine, _literally_. Her world was finally that of Max’s, where everything was indeed, sunshine and rainbows, as ridiculous as it was for her to admit it. She would gladly drop her ‘dog-eat-dog’ world that she poured blood and sweat into making, - without a second thought - for the paradise that was Max. She felt invincible, really, like she could do any fucking thing she wanted, and Max’s love would still permeate through any danger and protect her like a soft, fluffy blanket, that could keep her warm even in the coldest of winters (she could be as cheesy as Max too, when the situation warranted it). She wanted that blanket so badly, that she was ready to march right to Max’s room, knock down her door and declare her absolute devotion for her.

Of course, she would never actually do that in real life, lest the students of Blackwell officially declare her as insane, but it was nevertheless gratifying to entertain such a fantasy.

Suddenly, in the midst of her woolgathering, an unwanted, intrusive thought slammed into her, _‘I did declare my absolute devotion to her, in my help letter, which should be securely stored, away from anyone’s prying eyes, shouldn’t it?’_

Victoria’s ‘quick-thinking skills’ (as Max appraisingly described in her letter) allowed her to connect the dots between Max’s help letter, her own help letter and Courtney’s message; which she conveniently forgot about due to the emotional tsunami that crippled the rational part of her brain.

Courtney apologising in her text, meant that she’d done something that she wasn’t supposed to, like _leaking her help letter to the one and only dork who caused her all this chaos of hormonal teenage drama in the first place!_

She closed her eyes as she heaved out a dejected sigh. _Well, that was pretty anti-climactic wasn’t it?_

That thought stimulated a giggle, which grew into a chuckle and then blossomed into a full-blown guffaw. She didn’t care if anyone heard her. She was having a mental breakdown, for god’s sake.

She clutched her stomach, tears coming out of her eyes, as she belted out uncontrollable laughter. Her one moment of peak happiness, was swiftly destroyed by the sobering thought of Max reading her every traitorous feeling. She couldn’t even describe the extent of her feelings of embarrassment, mortification and most of all, humiliation at such an act. It’s like serving a platter of your secret recipes to your rival competitor. It completely strips you of your dignity and leaves you barren, with nothing to protect you from their judgement of your sins.

The inevitability of this importune moment was what made her break apart. That no matter what, she could never enjoy such pure happiness indefinitely. What was funny was that for once, she believed she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that ended on a sad note. I couldn't resist it, it seemed natural for Vic to react in a im-so-dead-so-im-just-gonna-laugh way lol.  
> But not to worry, the chivalrous knight will save the queen!
> 
> As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts about it!


	8. The Knight who (finally) saved the Queen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max confronts Victoria about the letters they passionately wrote about each other. Fluff ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun, dun, dun!!! The confrontation that we all have been waiting for, is finally here! Damn it, I'm so proud of these two TT  
> Long chapter ahead, Enjoy ;)

Both of them sat in their rooms, which were just opposite each other, each knowing that the other person has probably already read their help letters. Time ticked away, waiting for someone to make the first move. It was a very tense Sunday afternoon indeed.

Sunset descended. Max sat, leaning on the inside of her door, contemplating her situation as to whether she should confront Victoria about their…problem. She had never been good at confronting, always choosing to take the side-lines instead for fear of being made a fool in front of everyone. Victoria’s letter changed that, though. She made her feel, elevated, in a sense, where her small quiet actions were seen as brave, daring actions taken to break Victoria’s social empire little by little, to restore balance to the universe. Well, not as dramatic as that, but Victoria made her feel like she was superhuman, that even with her flaws, she could do anything she wanted.

She was just…waiting for something, to push her up to her feet, to cross the war-zone to Victoria’s castle. Whatever she was going to do next, was going to change hers and Victoria’s life forever. She needed the right mental boost for it.

Then it came.

A ray of sunlight from the setting sun descended upon her, bathing her room in a golden glow. She suddenly felt that everything would be alright, despite the large amount of uncertainties she faced ahead. It’s as if Heaven just gave her the signal to go ahead.  _ Thank you, Mysterious Almighty _ .

.

.

Three erratic knocks on her door startled Victoria out of her reverie and she lurched away from the door that she was leaning on. Her heart knocked against her ribs.

_ ‘Is that Max?’ _

She swallowed. Her heart rate accelerated. Well, she did all the worrying she could over the past few hours. It was time to confront all of them, starting by opening the door.

She walked languidly to the door, thoughts racing in her head.  _ ‘Should I even open the door? Can I just pretend that this never happened?’ _

It felt like those last-minute regrets you had in your head before you walked down the aisle for your wedding. Victoria mentally rolled her eyes at herself.  _ I can’t believe I thought that opening the door feels like my wedding. It’s just Max, the hipster, the dork. Nothing’s changed. _

Victoria held her breath as she opened the door, half expecting nobody to be there, and that all her pent-up feelings was making her delusional.

Despite the dread that built up in her when she saw a short brunette hipster, nervously twinging her hands about, she couldn’t help the thrill that went through her at seeing Max.

Max looked up at her, and for one inconceivable moment, gave her a blindingly white smile. Victoria’s eyes widened, unbelieving of Max’s calm demeanour, considering that all Max’s vulnerabilities have just been exposed to the ‘Queen Bitch’, who was notorious for using said vulnerabilities against her - often cruelly.

Max side-stepped Victoria and entered her room, since all Victoria did was stare at her. On her normal days, Victoria would have immediately kicked Max out for invading her privacy so very rudely, but this wasn’t a normal day. It was the weirdest but possibly the most important day of both of their lives. So, Victoria kept silent, and closed the door.

She expected some sweet declarations of love, or cold tense rejections, some crying and yelling, but she definitely did not anticipate the silence, or how comfortable it was, even though there was a figurative elephant in the room. Max took her time to gather her thoughts, her back facing her, while she took a look around Victoria’s room. Victoria sensed that Max was going to take charge of the conversation, and she, the ever-domineering person, was surprisingly okay with that, so she leaned on the door and waited patiently. It felt like a role-reversal, to be honest, with Max being the brave adult and Victoria being the kid in the room. It was a 180 degrees change in both their personalities. She guessed their letters brought out the opposite effects in them. It was interesting to see how their deepest secrets affected each other. Still, that didn’t make this any less scary at all.

.

.

Max sighed. Her newfound bravery was not going to be there for long _. Best to get on with it _

‘So…’ Max started and turned around to look at Victoria. The sight of Victoria, looking all rugged in her fashionable clothing - no doubt from her worrying about this…problem - still took her breath away. She was immediately hit with a pang of longing. Victoria crinkled her brows in response. Max looked away quickly; her feelings just get so out of control whenever she was near her, especially now, in the aftermath of reading her letter.

Max took a deep breath, and started the ball rolling, ‘Did you mean what you said, in your letter?’. It was the question that could make or break her, and she was willing to take the risk - for her.

Victoria looked up at her and stared at her with a fierce look.

Without hesitating, Victoria replied, ‘Every word,’ enunciating each syllable with slowly, to show Max that her letter held the most truth in her life. It took her great pains to admit it, the truth that is, but at this point, she no longer felt the need to deny it, given that they both just rawly exposed themselves to each other.

Max suddenly found it hard to swallow. It was unlike of Victoria to admit anything so honestly, especially something of this level of extreme vulnerability. She blinked back her embarrassing tears at Victoria’s admission.  _ Since when was she so emotional? _

‘Well, if it’s any consolation to you, my letter was as true as my terrible dancing’ Max choked out, trying to lighten up the tense, emotional atmosphere.

It worked. It earned a small snort from Victoria and an even smaller smile.

_ Oh my god! I made Victoria Chase smile! That was me! _ Max was internally doing cartwheels. They were making more progress in this conversation than they did in their entire lives.

‘Well, that’s a relief. I don’t know what I would do if I found out you were a spectacular dancer and everything was a lie,’ Victoria said, with a weak joke - she was never good at handling emotional conversations. She was glad Max made the atmosphere light-hearted.

At least, she didn’t look like she was a fragile vase, about to break apart any minute, Max thought. She was happy that she managed to lift Victoria’s mood.

‘Maybe I’m secretly Dana and you’d never know the truth until you actually danced with me’ Max quipped, a small grin in place, glad that the conversation was going well. She honestly didn’t expect that she could actually  _ banter _ with Victoria. It felt weirdly nice. Before this, Max would have laughed in anyone’s face if they suggested such an activity.

Victoria raised an eyebrow in turn and asked, ‘Is that a date?’

Max stumbled in her thoughts and stared at her wide-eyed.  _ What?! A date?! We just barely know each other! Even though I know her from her letter, we’ve barely exchanged a few sentences! Does Victoria actually want a date? Not that I would min-- _

Victoria interrupted her worries, having seen the panic across Max’s face, ‘Max! I was joking, all right? Don’t get your panties in a twist.’ Victoria said with a smirk.  _ Who knew the dork could get so worked up over a mention of a date? _

‘Oh! Yeah! Of course, you were kidding. I mean, I’m not that desper- I mean, yeah, of course,’ Max finished, lamely. Victoria jumbled up her thoughts and now she couldn’t think of what to say.

The conversation lapsed into an awkward silence. Clearly, they needed some time spent bonding together before they move on into the romantic territory, given that they never actually had genuine conversations outside of verbal sparring matches.

‘I’m sorry.’ Victoria spoke up suddenly, her voice lost the confidence it had a few moments ago.  _ Huh? _ Max swore that she could never keep up with Victoria’s moods.

‘I did terrible things to you and your friends. I was too…caught up in the Blackwell drama. I know that’s not an excuse, but I still have my old habits…’ Victoria broke off, not knowing what else to say to repent for her sins. She never repented, before. This was the first time she genuinely meant her ‘Sorry’. Most of the time, she used it sarcastically to offend people. She marvelled at how much she changed, all because of a letter. 

_ Wow. An apology. That’s a start. _

Max swallowed. Victoria was changing more than she ever did in their lives. She didn’t know what to say in response. Victoria apologising was like Kate cursing; just unheard of.

‘Well er, it’s okay. Everybody does shitty stuff, hell even I do. But, I try to be better. You can be better too, in your own way and I don’t mean that by changing into an angel overnight. Baby steps, you know,’ Max said nervously. She didn’t know how Victoria would react to it. It was weird, giving advice to Victoria, since Victoria was normally so self-assured.

Victoria pursed her lips in contemplation. In her normal Victoria mood, she would have rebuked that with her customary, ‘Fuck off.’ But she wasn’t normal now, she was different, not quite the feared ‘Queen Bitch’ anymore - Max’s letter had changed that. However, she wasn’t ready to turn over a new leaf now. Not that she would ever be. Some things were just ingrained in her. She wouldn’t be Victoria without them. But she could be nicer…in little ways. Baby steps, Max had said.  _ Fine, baby steps I can do. _

She decided to acknowledge Max’s advice with a firm nod, not trusting her voice. Max let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Their first ever major breakthrough. _Wowzers_.

‘Besides, your snarky remarks aren’t that bad. They’re actually pretty witty,’ Max confessed, with a shy smile.

Victoria arched her perfectly trimmed eyebrow. She didn’t believe Max at all, considering the way Max stood like a fish out of water whenever she made fun of her.  _ She did say my insults were witty in her letter… _

‘Hm. I never took you for the masochist type,  _ Maxine _ .’ Victoria said with a smirk in place. Max just confessed to a sin; how could she not resist teasing her?

Max blushed to her roots. Seeing that, Victoria’s smirk grew bigger.

‘I’m not a ma-masochist! I just like that about you, that’s all. It’s not weird right? I mean, people like weird shit all the time. I mean, look at you. You like me, and I’m a nobody! Now, that’s weird.’ Max said, with a defiant tone. After everything, even the letter, she still couldn’t believe Victoria fucking Chase has a crush on her.

‘Well, I guess you could say weird is my fetish.’ Victoria replied smoothly.

Max was sure her ears were going to fall off. Victoria did  _ not _ just say that.

‘Well, I guess you have a crush for the janitor, Samuel, too?’ Max replied with a smirk, folding her arms. She was capable of some witty remarks of her own too.

Victoria immediately scrunched up her nose and sputtered, ‘Gross Max! Samuel’s a fucking alien. Like hell I would ever.’

Max grinned. To soothe Victoria’s hurt pride, Max added, ‘Maybe I have a fetish for rich snobs. I guess we both complement each other pretty well, huh?’

Victoria gave a small smile at that. ‘Yeah I guess so.’ She agreed.

Both looked away from each other, suddenly shy.

_ God, it’s like we’re in a romantic trope! Only this time, it’s real life…how ridiculous.  _ Victoria scoffed.

Max looked up at her, at the sound of her scoff, with her bright guileless blue eyes and all. Victoria swallowed. _Ugh!_ _Why the fuck are her eyes so fucking blue…_

In order not to succumb to their allure, Victoria changed the subject, ‘I suppose we should thank our best friends for taking part in this…adventure. Without them, we’d probably be moping until we end up in an elderly home,’ she said in a cynical tone, looking away from Max’s bewitching eyes.

Max laughed. ‘Yeah, if it wasn’t for those two, you’d still be griping about my selfies in your old age. Thank god for Kate and your minion.’

Victoria huffed, ‘Her name’s Courtney by the way. I know you don’t remember names well, but Courtney’s a pretty good minion. I’d say she’s as good as your Kate.’

‘You mean you’ve managed to mould her until she became your gullible minion,’ Max deadpanned.

‘Duh. How do you think I became their queen?’ Victoria said in a haughty tone, arching her pristine brow.

Max gave her a  _ ‘are-you-serious’  _ expression. Victoria can just be so…Victoria at times. Max didn’t even know if she was joking. She decided to shake her up.

‘Yeah, my queen too.’ Max said with a wink. Though she blushed instantly after she said that. She just couldn't resist messing Victoria up, especially at times when she was so full of herself, like now.

Victoria flushed. _Cliché as fuck._ _But somehow, Max manages to make it endearing._

_ Dork! _

‘Monday? After school? We could er walk around, and talk?’ she suggested, hoping she didn’t come off as too eager. Max somehow inspires weird intense feelings in her with her sweet, cliché-as-hell flirt attempts. To her consternation, her heart wanted more of it.

Max widened her eyes in response, ‘Er yeah! That’ll be great!’ She totally didn’t expect Victoria to make the first main move. She expected it to be like chess, where she had to think ten steps ahead to say the right things to Victoria for her to even agree to hang out with her, since Victoria nagged and criticised every single thing ever.

‘So, is this really it? All it took was those letters?’ Max couldn’t help but ask, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Victoria gave a wistful smile at that. ‘I know right? To think our lives were changed by just two letters. It’s crazy.’ She wondered what would have happened had Kate and Courtney not done what they did to bring Max and her together.

‘Very cereal stuff.’ Max commented, nodding her head in response.

Victoria felt an odd tenderness for Max at that moment. _Cereal indeed._

‘Guess I’ll go first. Got some homework to catch up on. See you later.’ Max said. It was anti-climactic. But the good side was that they made enormous leaps and bounds in their relationship.

‘Okay. See you,’ Victoria replied in a small voice. She couldn’t bring herself to say more, even though her heart felt full. 

Max knew Victoria wasn’t really good at expressing emotions that brought out the vulnerable side in her. Not that she was any better, but she guessed she was more comfortable showing her true emotions because she didn’t feel like she had to keep up an image for the world, unlike Victoria. She hoped Victoria would soon be comfortable enough with her to shed that image. 

Still, that phrase lifted up her spirits and put a spring to her steps. Having Victoria talk to her like that, where she was being all shy and nice, fulfilled all of Max’s hidden wishes, above and beyond. Old Max restored! Awesome!

Seeing the positive change take in Max after her reply, Victoria had the sudden urge to do something affectionate towards her.

As Max passed by her to her door, Victoria leaned forward and brushed her lips against her cheek, in what was a very light peck.

Max stopped abruptly, and put her hand to her cheek, her face contorted with confusion and delight.

Victoria scrambled for a reason for her very unexpected action. ‘That’s er for good luck. You know, for school starting tomorrow.’ She mentally slapped herself, _ what a stupid excuse. Max probably thinks you’re desperate as fuck. _

For someone who was so apt at lying, Victoria seemed as bad as a liar as her. But still, Max didn’t give a shit. If she wished her good luck like this every day, Max would be in heaven.

‘Best good luck wish I’ve ever gotten,’ Max said with a cheeky smile.

Victoria’s cheeks stained pink.  _ Damn it, dorkiness overload. She’d better get out of here before I maul her. _

Max took a last look at her, memorising her exquisite features as if this was the last time she was going to see her, even though they were meeting up tomorrow, but she couldn’t help it.

They had finally admitted their feelings for each other, face to face, with no disaster in sight. She’d probably rewind to this moment over and over again, just to relive the experience. It was probably the happiest moment of her life ever.

She gave Victoria a genuine smile, that showed none of the previous worries she had earlier when coming in, which made Victoria's heart leap, and left reluctantly.

Victoria leaned against the door, closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.  _ What a day… _

She put her hand against her heart, feeling her thumping heartbeat. Just a few minutes ago, she thought she could never have her happy fantasy. But Max came from the darkness and swooped her up from her swirling pit of depression, like the knight in shining armour she was. Maybe, she was really meant to be saved, and not left to fend for herself like how she always thought she would end up. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she couldn’t wait for tomorrow to come.

.

.

Anyone who saw Victoria and noticed the strange smile that stayed permanently on her face, or how Max changed from being sad and gloomy, to the upbeat, vibrant person she was - as if a switch was suddenly flipped in both of them - probably thought this was just one of those weird days, where there was a lull in the chaotic social drama that Blackwell Academy seemed to love to revolve around.

Only 2 people outside of Victoria and Max knew the truth, and so the universe thanked them for their efforts, for once again balance was restored, by the official cupids, Kate and Courtney, in this sappy tale of lovesick college students, in which letters make all the difference.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG I'm finally done! It's a short fic, but it was a emotional one for me. I still can't believe they got their happily-ever-after!!! *cries* I can finally get Chasefield out of my system, now that they're together in my own fantasy hehe.
> 
> So, I thank every one of you who commented to keep me going and read this story to its very end. Truly, I only get joy from reading your comments! Thank you so much for the kudos too! 
> 
> As always, I'd love your thoughts on this!


End file.
